The Gift of Sight
by klatchshy
Summary: King Lambert was intrigued when he received word that the Church of Seiros had found a Seer. It was said that they were only born before times of strife and hardship, in order to guide Fodan to the best possible future. And so, once she had mastered her Sight, he held an audience with her. Also posted on AO3


King Lambert had been requesting an audience with the Seer for years, almost since the child had been taken in by the church. Lady Patricia had been putting it off, claiming that it would be best to wait until she had mastered her Sight. But that excuse couldn't last forever.

In the summer of 1174, the Seer found herself in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, standing before a pair of double doors beside Lady Rhea, shaking like a leaf before her meeting with the King.

The visions she'd had the night before were the worst she had ever seen, and it wasn't just because of the massacre she saw. Her visions were filled with violence. She was used to it.

The thing that upset her so was the knowledge she would now have to tell the King. She had spent all morning looking deeper into the future, trying to disprove herself, but she knew it was in vain. Her visions had never failed her, and she knew they never would.

She guessed that she had managed to see as far as seven years ahead, much further than she had ever before, and perhaps further than she should have. And what she had seen . . . it was unthinkable.

She looked up at Lady Rhea, pleading. "Your Grace, I can't do this!" she said in a hushed voice, desperately trying not to wrinkle the papers she held.

Lady Rhea laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You are simply the messenger. What you saw was not your fault, and you will not be punished for speaking the truth. I will be right beside you the whole time." Lady Rhea calmly told her.

"Would you please tell him? Your words have far more power than mine," she asked desperately.

She shook her head. "It is not my place. You are the Seer. This is your duty."

"What if he doesn't believe me? What if he thinks I'm lying?"

"If he thinks you are lying, it will be because he distrusts me, not you, Seer. Everything is going to be fine."

The girl was far from convinced, but she followed Rhea into the room anyway.

She looked around and took a moment to get her bearings. They were in a small council room that only contained a small table. Aside from her, Lady Rhea, and the King, there were only three other people present. It was meant to be a private audience, after all. There were two knights, standing on either side of the doorway, and the Prince.

The Seer thanked her lucky stars that Lady Patricia was not present. Or, perhaps it was not lucky at all, and the woman simply did not want to be in the room when her husband learned of her betrayal.

The King sat at the far end of the table, his son sitting to his left. Lady Rhea took her seat at the table across from the King, and the Seer remained standing beside her, placing the papers on the table and fixed her eyes on them. She didn't hear Rhea introduce her over the pounding of her heart and almost jumped when Rhea placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

The Seer looked up and met the King's eyes, then glanced at the young boy sitting next to him, Prince Dimitri. Her voice shook a little as she politely requested that he be dismissed. The King nodded, and though the boy asked to stay, King Lambert stayed firm. She watched him leave, then took a breath before telling the King of her visions.

She began with the attack that would kill him and many others, telling him how his son would be the only one to survive the massacre. She told him what that experience would do to the Prince. He would be plagued with survivors' guilt and blood lust, and with time be driven nearly mad by hallucinations of those who had died.

She explained that in the aftermath of the attack, the people of Duscur would be wrongfully blamed and retaliated against, and as a result, the people would be almost entirely eradicated.

She was able to tell the king all this with relative ease. These were the sort of visions she saw every night of the Knights of Seiros, and the students at the academy.

But then came the difficult part.

Her voice shook as she told him that the attack would be a planned assassination, and who the conspirators were. She named Lady Patricia, and she felt as if she could see the King's heart break. Dread settled over the room.

The King was very quiet the entire time she spoke, never interrupting her. When she was finished, he dismissed her with his thanks, and she left quickly, trying to hide her tears. Rhea stood and passed him the papers, the written account of the Seer's visions, then sat down again.

He felt the Archbishop's eyes on him as he skimmed the descriptions with troubled eyes, his hand covering his mouth thoughtfully. He was very glad he had dismissed Dimitri.

First, he read about the attack. Even the blunt and simple descriptions she had written were enough to make his stomach churn. His heart went out to the girl. He knew it weighed heavy on the heart to see such things.

He finally understood why the Queen never wanted the Seer to come. He would be having a very difficult conversation with his wife shortly. He didn't want to believe the Seer. He prayed that she was wrong, that there was some mistake, but he knew he couldn't just ignore what she had seen. Such accusations could not be taken lightly.

He didn't look up from the papers when he finally spoke. "Does she always have visions like this? Of death?"

Rhea nodded gravely. "Since many of the people residing at Garreg Mach are soldiers or soldiers in training, she has many visions of coming battles. She uses her knowledge to help plan and strategize. Our casualties have dropped significantly since we have had her with us."

He considered this for a moment. "How old is she?" he asked quietly.

"We are unsure of her exact age, but we estimate her to be fifteen."

He shook his head absentmindedly. "Poor child," he muttered under his breath. He looked up from the papers, his eyes glistening with tears threatening to fall. "And this is all true?" he asked, his voice threatening to crack.

"Of course, your Majesty. I have no reason to lie to you."

"I know," he murmured. "You may go."

Lady Rhea did so, leaving him to decide how to go on.

* * *

After the audience, the Seer found a little courtyard to sit in and practice her lute, desperate to comfort herself. Her eyes were still red from crying. She sat against a tree in the grass and played one of her favorite songs. It was sweet and relaxing, and as she played her hands stopped trembling.

She looked up from the instrument when she heard footsteps drawing near, but she didn't stop playing.

She saw the Prince approaching and gave him a polite smile. "Hello, your Highness."

He smiled back and shook his head. "No one's around, miss. You can just call me Dimitri. I like your song!" He got a closer look at her and his face fell, noticing that she had been crying. "Are you alright?"

She looked back down at her hands, playing a little quieter. "Yes, Dimitri."

He sat down next to her in the grass, his knees pulled up and his arms crossed on top of them. He looked at her with knitted eyebrows. "Why wasn't I allowed to stay when you were telling my father the future?" He asked quietly.

She looked at him apologetically. "The visions I had were . . . unpleasant. I didn't want you to worry about them."

He shook his head. "Now I'm definitely going to be worried. What did you see that was so bad? Is that why you were crying?"

She shook her head. "You don't need to worry. None of what I saw is going to happen, now. His Majesty will make sure of it."

He frowned at her, confused. "Wait, if that's how you saw it, why isn't that how it's going to be?"

She hummed. "The future is always uncertain. It changes depending on the decisions people make. I see a lot of different futures in my visions. I warn people about the worst ones, and give them advice about how to avoid them."

He was quiet for a moment. "You know, we in Faerghus like to say that blades are tools of destiny, used to cut a path to the future you want." He smiled at her. "It sounds like you give people the blades they need."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Yes, it is something like that, isn't it?"

The young Prince straightened up and adjusted the way he was sitting so his legs were crossed. "What about good futures? Do you tell people about those?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, but I try to wait until I'm sure I know the truth."

He thought for a moment then glanced over at her. "Do you have a name? I've only heard people call you Seer."

She nodded. "My name is Cibil, but I don't use it very often."

The boy pulled at the grass beside him sheepishly. "I hope I'm not bothering you with all these questions, Cibil. I've just never met a Seer before."

She smiled. "It's alright. It's my job to give people answers," she told him, beginning to play a different song, one that she was still learning. She made a few mistakes, but Dimitri either didn't notice or didn't mind.

As she finished it, an old and stern-looking woman with her arms crossed appeared at the entrance to the courtyard.

"Your Highness, you are late for your history lesson," she called out, sounding impatient.

Dimitri grimaced momentarily and stood up quickly, brushing himself off. He smiled at her again. "It was very nice to meet you, Cibil."

"You too, Dimitri." She gave him a smile back and a little wave goodbye before he rushed over to the woman. Her smile fell as soon as his back was to her. She felt terrible, having talked to him so kindly all while knowing it was now her fault he would lose his stepmother.

When Dimitri made it to his tutor, he apologized immediately. "I'm very sorry. I was on my way, but I got distracted."

She nodded. "I noticed. Don't let it happen again. I understand it's exciting to have the Seer visiting, but you need to mind your schedule." She began to walk away and gestured for him to follow her.

He listened to the Seer's music get quieter as he got further away. The song she was playing now was slow but steady, like something one would waltz to.

"Do you think I could learn to play the lute?" he asked.

A small smile crossed his tutor's face. "I don't see why not, as long as you keep up with your studies. You should ask his Majesty."

Dimitri grinned to himself, planning to do just that. When they made it to his classroom, he was pleased to find that he could still faintly hear the music.

* * *

In the coming months, the Queen and other conspirators were quietly tried, found guilty, and exiled.

Two uneventful years went by, and the Tragedy of Duscur never came to pass.

* * *

AN: I might continue this story, I might not. I'd like to, but I'm still deciding. Let me know what you think!


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